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O'Day 25 Bulkhead Alteration

2K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  deniseO30 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone,
I am new to the site and new to being a larger boat owner. I just recently bought an O'Day 25 and want to do some winter work to it. What I want to do is modify the forward starboard bulkhead to extend the V-berth bunk. I want to cut a section out of the bulkhead to to allow for myself to comfortably sleep on the starboard side of the V-berth. For some background, the previous owner replaced the aft bulkheads and never reinstalled the starboard vanity. With that, the space aft of the forward bulkhead is open making less work for myself.

I basically want to cut a section out of the bulkhead that will start from where the bunk's top is and extend the cut upward to the deck of the boat. I want to leave 8"s of bulkhead between the cut and the hull while extending the cut upward and leaving over 12"s of bulk head between the ceiling and the cut. The section cut will resemble a misshaped "C". I will then reinforce the entire bulkhead with a piece of 1" thick finish plywood. After all of that I will extend the bunk by about 1 foot.

I have been analyzing the structural intent of this bulkhead and do not see a problem with this. I do have a background in simple structural analysis. The bulkhead, I want to modify, does not contain the chain-plates for the starboard stays or any exterior holdings. From what I can tell is the bulkhead is mainly for Hull reinforcement from the pressures exerted on it during normal use. Also, I feel that the bulkhead itself is not critical to holding the weight on the deck because the decks shape and thickness allow for it to be sufficient in supporting the operating loads.

I understand I am new to boats and understand there is alot that I do not know. I believe there is an analytical approach to most problems and believe in discussions that detail all solutions to problems.

I am posting this modification idea because I want to know what other people with boating experience think of this? I know there could be alot of things I am overlooking and hope that I can be pointed in the right direction with this.

Thanks in advance for the help,
 
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